Cta Platform Melee Ends In Man's Death

Post-fireworks Violence Mars Holiday

July 05, 1993|By Louise Kiernan.

A CTA platform packed with families heading home from the lakefront 4th of July fireworks display became the horrifying scene of a brawl Saturday night that resulted in a man being thrown onto the tracks and electrocuted.

The incident was part of a spate of violence that killed several people and seriously injured a dozen more over the holiday weekend in the Chicago area.

At 11 p.m. Saturday, a group of young men got in a fight on the subway platform at Washington and State Streets, either because one had stolen another's hat or had made comments about a woman in the group, said Harrison Area Violent Crimes Sgt. John Chojnacki.

At least 50 people were standing on the platform when one man shoved another onto the tracks. He landed on the third rail and was electrocuted. The group then escaped into a departing train, Chojnacki said.

Police were still trying Sunday to determine if the incident was gang-related, Chojnacki said.

Gang warfare is believed to be the cause of a shooting at 9 p.m. Saturday on a Congress/Douglas line elevated train. Two teenagers were on their way to view the fireworks when they encountered two members of a rival gang and began beating them, Chojnacki said.

The victims then pulled out a gun and shot their attackers as the train was at the Racine Avenue stop, he said. They were arrested by police as they tried to flee, but charges had not been filed against them as of Sunday afternoon.

A 15-year-old remained hospitalized in serious condition at Cook County Hospital with gunshot wounds to the stomach and chest. An 18-year-old was discharged Sunday after being treated for a gunshot wound to the stomach.

People were still trickling home from the fireworks along south Lake Shore Drive just after midnight, when a 20-year-old Bellwood man was shot to death in his car. Diamon George, of 3604 W. Monroe St. in Bellwood, was driving south along the outer portion of the drive, in the 3900 block near a bicycle path, when a group of men called out gang slogans and then began firing at the car, said Wentworth Area Violent Crimes Detective Bill Murphy.

Four people were in the vehicle but only George was hit, police said. A bullet came through the back window and struck him in the chest.

A 17-year-old was shot and killed in the 11600 block of South Throop Street at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. George Barron, of 6253 S. Michigan Ave., was found lying on the ground, with a single bullet wound to the head, according to Pullman Area Violent Crimes Detective Jimmy Marbury. No suspects had been identified as of Sunday afternoon.

A South Side restaurant was the site of another fatal shooting early Saturday. Ruben Aramula, 26, was killed and a 15-year-boy injured after they walked into Phil's Kastle, 9232 S. Commercial Ave., at 5:30 a.m. and allegedly flashed gang signals at three young men sitting at a table, said Pullman Area Violent Crimes Sgt. Rich Kobel.

One of the young men pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and fired at least four shots, hitting Aramula, of 3010 E. 80th Pl., in the head and the boy in the eye. The boy was reported in good condition at Wyler Children's Hospital.

On Sunday, police were still searching for the occupants of two cars who sped down the 5600 block of South Ashland Avenue at 8 a.m. Saturday, chasing and shooting each other in a melee that seriously injured two passersby.

A stray bullet hit a 77-year-old woman in the head, and a 42-year-old man had both legs broken when one of the cars apparently lost control and struck him, said Wentworth Area Violent Crimes Detective Janet McCarthy.

The victims, whose names were not released by police, were both hospitalized. The woman was listed in critical condition at Cook County Hospital, and the man was reported in fair condition at Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center.